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dressing in the 1960s

For those of us old enough to remember the 1960s when most women
wore skirts and dresses ,and wouldnt leave the house unless their make up was perfect, heck even my mother wore a skirt and I haven,t seen her wear one since my sisters wedding years ago ,
Do you think it would have been easyer to blend
in crossdressed , I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

good topic. I so remember the look of the 1960's -the girdles that created the wonderful rounded derriere-so nicer than today's 'two puppies in a sack' look. I think true transvestites could blend in better since dressing up was acceptable-today rarely does a female wear hosiery-if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one! Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

good topic. I so remember the look of the 1960's -the girdles that created the wonderful rounded derriere-so nicer than today's 'two puppies in a sack' look. I think true transvestites could blend in better since dressing up was acceptable-today rarely does a female wear hosiery-if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one! Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

I Agree

Soon as I saw the first episode of Mad Men, I was hooked. The sexy women made up in dresses doing their everyday chores. Don't get me wrong, I luv a nice butt in tight jeans, as much as the next. But something has been lost. Women should dress up more for grocery shopping, errands, and just for house hold duties.

I'm sure, I'm not the only one that has taken a second look at an well dressed women out shopping. Of course since I'm happily married, I just look to remember how I should look next time I'm out on the town. And too give the girl credit. We crossdresser know how much work goes into lookin good.

You think women are hung up on the fact that guys don't wear sharp suits everyday? Or go through a tube of Brylcreme every week!

I think modern women look fine. And even casual dressing makes 'em look a lot more independent and stronger than they ever did. Sure the Stepford wives were kinda cute, but I sure wouldn't wanna be married to one!

Funny! I remember the '50s and only the early '60s as golden ages of femininity as the later '60s were when girls went into shapeless sacque dresses and then into shapeless jeans and t-shirts as the Age of Aquarius arrived.

For ultimate femininity you want the 1860's rather than the 1960's. It is impossible to describe, to anyone who hasn't tried it, the feeling of spending the day tightly laced into a corset and dressed in a floor-length crinoline. A whole different world!

"If you are living the life you want to live you've successfully transitioned to being the person you want to be." - Eryn.

"If you truly care about me you should damn well want for me what I want for myself" - Michael Westen (Burn Notice)

if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one!

Sure you can wear dresses and skirts, some women wear them, sometimes more at certain times than other times. Besides, if you feel pretty in a skirt and want to wear it out, do it.

Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

Pure nylon stockings suck. I picked up some from a consigment shop once, they were rough and baggy. Sure they were sheer but they didn't feel as nice or comfortable as hosiery with a bit of spandex does. They're missing out on nothing.

Originally Posted by Missy Tanya

Soon as I saw the first episode of Mad Men, I was hooked.

Ah...Joan.

But something has been lost. Women should dress up more for grocery shopping, errands, and just for house hold duties.

They should? Who's going to make them? What if they don't want to? Are you willing to wear dapper suits and fedoras in guy mode like Don and the rest of the ad men do? It's always funny to me, when transfolk who sometimes themselves as a people complain about not being able to wear what they want, say that women should dress up more...for grocery shopping.

Look, sure I could do the vacumming in a pretty dress and kitten heels. But odds are that would only happen if I was already wearing them for some reason. I'm not going to go, "oh I should dress up to do the vacumming because some people think women don't dress up enough these days." Would you want to walk around one of the HUGE modern supermarkets in an uncomfortable rubber girdle, saggy pure nylon stockings and vintage 50's shoes?

Retro classics have their place, and I like them myself to a certain extent, but the only people who should wear them are those who choose to wear them and want to wear them, not those who feel they have to wear them to fit some societal expectation.

We crossdresser know how much work goes into lookin good.

"Some" of us do. But do we all "look good" despite the effort? Maaaaaybe so, or maybe not.

Originally Posted by deja true

You think women are hung up on the fact that guys don't wear sharp suits everyday? Or go through a tube of Brylcreme every week!

Hilarious.

I think modern women look fine.

Me too.

Sure the Stepford wives were kinda cute, but I sure wouldn't wanna be married to one!

Mmmmm preppy.mmmmm Izod...so sexay, so hawt. Y'know, women should dress preppy all the time, like out of the 80's preppy handbook. The Fair Isle sweaters...the polos...the button downs and they should all change their names to Muffy or Missy. Mwah ha ha ha ha. Not!

Realize that that's your fetish talking, please! I'm not really enamored of looking like my mother! Or acting like her!

I still haven't gotten over June Cleaver vacuuming the carpet in heels and pearls

Well, you could always do it youself :-) No harm in that.

But do you think that the majority of average women did that. No they didn't, and they'd often lie about it to marketers and whatnot and say they did, because they thought they were expected to, because that's what TV showed them.

Those times weren't exactly good times for "our people" either. Imagine being a young TG person in 1960, no internet, no books, maybe seeing an article about "perverts" in magazines? Or what about those women who didn't want to be June Cleaver, who didn't want to wear pearls or heels, who felt uncomfortable in dresses, how did they feel.

Veronica
Rondelle (Ron) Rogers Jr.

If you believe in it, makeup has a magic all it's own -- Sooner or Later (TV movie)
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?- Marianne Williamson
Have I also not said that "This Thing of Ours" makes some of us a bit "Barefoot in the Head"? Well, it does.

For those of us old enough to remember the 1960s when most women
wore skirts and dresses ,and wouldnt leave the house unless their make up was perfect, heck even my mother wore a skirt and I haven,t seen her wear one since my sisters wedding years ago ,
Do you think it would have been easyer to blend
in crossdressed , I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

I think it would have been easier to blend if IF one's body was sufficiently feminine looking. Yes, back then the girls were a lot more girly in their fashions.

I'm glad I did not grow up in that time though. I had a hard enough time growing up in this time being a cd - it was only with the arrival of the internet that I was finally able to get some good information about being a cd to help figure myself out, and of course find online communities to chat with others like myself. This was simply not possible in the 60's - not from the privacy of one's home.

But blending in - yeah. I'd say it was probably easier depending on one's personal appearance. Wasn't around then though, so I have no idea in reality.

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I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

Actually, wigs wouldn't have been particularly hard to get back then, no more than other ladies things-- they were popular and socially acceptable especially with older ladies or anyone without enough volume in their hair for some of the bouffant styles of the time.

But a man shopping for anything girly would have been quite a challenge. So many of the options open to us would not have existed, and there would have been much more scrutiny and gossip over a guy (especially an unmarried one) buying ladies things. Probably your best bet in 1961 would have been to go to the biggest department store in a neighboring city and concoct a honey of a cover story.

I remember I once had a stack of crossdresser magazines from the early 60's-- mostly stage performers, but they had that great period look. Unfortunatley I think they were lost in a purge...

The actual style of the '60s, with that heavy polyester and that go-go stewardess look.....I'm not a big fan. It's true that the social norms for women were to actually wear dresses and such when they went anywhere, but as has been mentioned, men were expected to wear nicer clothes as well. What's good for the goose......

Anyway, women still managed to wear dresses well into the '80s, at least to work. In the '70s, women wore disco dresses to bars, and men wore nicely tailored suits when they went out. The object was to look really sharp when out cruising for companionship, an idea that should really take root again sometime. Dancing was an obsession. Too bad the actual music kinda sucked. But it still was not uncommon to see a lady wearing a dress, heels, and pantyhose to a bar as well as in everyday situations.

Dresses, in my opinion, were at their prettiest in the '80s, and I still wear dresses from that era for much of my wardrobe. They translate well to todays styles, except that they're prettier than the usual fare offered up today. Apparently many ladies agree with me, since I get a lot of positive comments on what I wear. But once the '90s hit, and the new century, we all became a society of slobs, opting to parade around in baggy crap, sweats, T-shirts, and jeans with designer holes in them. Slouchy became a fashion trend, and we all lost out.

I am hoping that fashion trends are cyclical. I am hoping that some future generation (soon!) rediscovers the joys of nice dresses and hosiery. The pendulum has swung way too far to one extreme, and it's time it swung back the other way some. As for me, I'd rather wear a nice dress than some no-fun casual crap out somewhere whether it makes me stand out in a crowd or not. Half the fun (or more!) of crossdressing is the clothes, so if I'm not wearing pretty dresses and such, it's not worth the bother to me.

Funny! I remember the '50s and only the early '60s as golden ages of femininity as the later '60s were when girls went into shapeless sacque dresses and then into shapeless jeans and t-shirts as the Age of Aquarius arrived.

For ultimate femininity you want the 1860's rather than the 1960's. It is impossible to describe, to anyone who hasn't tried it, the feeling of spending the day tightly laced into a corset and dressed in a floor-length crinoline. A whole different world!

mmmmh---it certainly is and there is no feeling like it---the more feminine the more silk, satin, petticoat etc, the better as far as I'm conerned---of course We need to be Ladies of Wealth and Privilege, with servants at Our beck and call to live that kind of life---hard to be a modern girl and go to the mall etc in a corsette under petticoats and a floor length satin ball gown.

Hmmmm...., Its not so much that they 'dressed up' back then its just that doing so was a normal everyday thing for them. If you ever see pictures of people at a ballgame from back then it will be mostly of men and they were wearing shirts and ties. Women wouldn't attend a function unless they were presenting themselves in skirts or dresses. Women would wake up in the morning and put their dresses on and go do the housework. Its what they did. They didn't complain about the discomfort of what they wore or the impracticality of it. They functioned normally! Even after dress codes were lifted in our schools well over half of the girls still wore skirts or dresses. It was no big deal. With the arrival of the late seventies things started changing drastically as far as dress was concerned (at least in my part of the country). One thing that I didn't miss was the appearance of women in curlers out in public. Perhaps one day we'll return to days resembling those years.

I started back in the mid 50,s when poodle skirts and 3 or 4 can can slips under it were the thing along with a tight sweater and a silk scarf around your neck. Oh gosh I loved dressing up then so much fun and fashion and yes my mother had a wig at the time. When she would work the late shift I would dress and walk around the block, never got caught or made.

Dittos TGMarla and CarolA! We have lost a lot, in classiness, dress, and manners! I like looking at old photos, and old tv and movies. I would guess 95% of the time, the ladies are in dresses and skirts! It is ironic, that athe decades go by, some things get better, yet, some things go down hill. Dress, manners, and music, keep going for the most part, down the tubes! I guess, that a cd would have felt like the only one alive, then, even though, he may have blended in easier, as all ladies wore dresses. and skirts. 1971, was the year my high school first allowed girls to wear pants. I noticed that there was something in the air, a different spirit, and things have never been the same. Basically, it was now ok, for them to crossdress.

IT TAKES A REAL DRESS TO WEAR A MAN. I am on Flickr as Amazon Alice. Youtube, as Alice Torn.

In the 60's I didn't dress in public because my hair was short and I didn't have a wig. But the long hair revolution allowed me to grow my hair out when I got out of the Air Force. Then, when I wore a dress in public everyone assumed that I was a girl. I had a curly perm but kept my sideburns short. Back then it was illegal for a man to go to a beauty shop. The barbers backed the legislation. When I called a beauty shop to ask for an appointment the receptionist said I could come in if I was dressed as a woman. It was that way for many years until the old law was rescinded. I would go in once a week for a shampoo and set. The ladies at the shop were very nice to me. Leanne

I turned 15 in 1960 and that's when I went from experimentation to actually wearing women's clothes. I loved all the colored lingerie, garter belts and stockings, frilly petticoats, and the dresses. Yes even the household dresses they wore made them look classy. I watched with envy when they dolled up in their finery and makeup and wanted to emulate them. I had three older sisters with closets full of clothes that I could borrow and I would be in sheer extacy as I dressed in front of their bedroom mirror. Aahhh! The sweet memories of the sixties.